Purple Pinkie Project @ PCHS

7 months ago7 months ago

Interact Club Members

Students in the Polk County High School Interact Club helped raise funds to eradicate Polio by sponsoring a Purple Pinkie day last week. The Purple Pinkie campaign supports Polio eradication work being done by Rotary’s Polio Plus Program, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the US Center for Disease Control.

Why is it called Purple Pinkie? When a child is vaccinated, they have a purple stamp put on their little finger. Each Purple Pinkie brings us closer to making Polio history.

When Rotary took up the challenge to eradicate Polio, the virus existed in 125 countries around the world. Today, only 3 countries in the world have continue the transmission of polio (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria). Despite the progress achieved since 1988, as long as a single child remains infected with poliovirus, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the disease.

So the aim is to make one last push to rid the world of Polio once and for all. Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “The extraordinary dedication of Rotary members has played a critical role in bringing polio to the brink of eradication”.

“Eradicating polio will be one of the most significant public health accomplishments in history, and we are committed to helping reach that goal.” So much so that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has made a huge donation to Rotary to help with this final push. With your help, too, the world can finally see the end of polio because as long as polio threatens even one child, children everywhere are at risk.